Spooky activities and trolls attract hordes of families to centre

HUNDREDS of families enjoyed some comedy, mayhem, and a little bit of hocus pocus at Port Solent's family fun day.
Silly Scott with, from left, Harry Ford, two, Jessica Cleife, four, Sophie Ford, four, Isabelle Sutton, four, Mabel Drain, two, and Lacey Brice, four Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-9018)Silly Scott with, from left, Harry Ford, two, Jessica Cleife, four, Sophie Ford, four, Isabelle Sutton, four, Mabel Drain, two, and Lacey Brice, four Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-9018)
Silly Scott with, from left, Harry Ford, two, Jessica Cleife, four, Sophie Ford, four, Isabelle Sutton, four, Mabel Drain, two, and Lacey Brice, four Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-9018)

A packed day of activities took place at the centre yesterday.

Children’s entertainer Silly Scott was the star attraction and hundreds of people went to his three shows.

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Also taking place yesterday, arts and crafts specialists from Fareham company The Creation Station held workshops on the decking.

Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)
Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)

Louise Richardson, from the company, said: ‘It has been very busy.

‘Children have been making black cats, halloween masks and witches pictures.

‘The reaction has been very positive and the children really enjoyed making the masks.’

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Five-year-old Poppy O’Shaughnessy, from Purbrook, was enjoying the magic show with her family – little brother Toby, 11 months, her dad James and mum Hollie.

Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)
Isabella Spencer, three, from Denmead and Luka Drain, five, from Copnor, dressed up Picture: Sarah Standing (161473-5730)

Poppy, who goes to Hart Plain Infant School, said she was still excited from her birthday two days previously.

She said: ‘The day has been really good.’

James Lord, five, from Hayling Island, was enjoying a trip to the centre with his dad Charlie. He was excited to be going to the cinema to watch the new Trolls movie, a surprise outing.

Charlie, 41, said: ‘It’s been a nice day, so we thought we would have a picnic here as Port Solent is always a nice place to come.’

And the fun does not stop there.

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Also this half-term, animal-handling company, ZooLab, is offering families the chance to hold snakes, spiders, millipedes, bearded dragons and cockroaches from 11am until 4pm on Thursday.

There will be an interactive dinosaur as a special scare for children, appearing for five 20-minute slots between midday and 3pm.

Along with regular events by the waterside, Port Solent is running a photo competition on social media.

All visitors are encouraged to upload their photos of the marina, its restaurants or shops to Twitter or Instagram with the caption #picportsolent to be in with a chance of winning prizes worth up to £100.

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Samantha Golden, site manager at Port Solent, said: ‘Our kids’ club events were very successful over the summer months, so we’re excited to have them back with a spooky twist for halloween.

‘The #picportsolent competition is a brand new way for our visitors share their 
experiences of Port Solent, and we love seeing all the parts of our marina the public enjoy.’

To find out what’s on at Port Solent, visit portsolent.com

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